- Rising Apa Twidle will leave the Parramatta Eels at the end of 2026 after agreeing to a three-year deal with the new Perth Bears (joining in 2027).
- The deal is in a cooling-off period, but he’s expected to go ahead with it because the offer is significantly better.
- Twidle burst onto the scene with a standout debut (2 tries in 3 minutes), which attracted strong interest from multiple clubs.
- Parramatta reportedly only offered a low-value development contract (~$80k), while Perth provided better financial security and opportunity.
- A key factor: the Bears are offering him a chance to play in the halves, rather than being used as a utility/backline option.
- He becomes one of the early signings helping build the Bears’ inaugural squad under coach Mal Meninga.
Bottom line:
Parramatta unearthed a serious talent, but underpaid and under-positioned him—Perth stepped in with money, role clarity, and long-term security, and likely pinched him.
Replies
He will be the 6
Wishart was rumoured to have signed to play Hooker.
wishart is playing 9
This will come back to bite us.
So basically we invested/wasted in a rookie Pezet for a year. We don't give Lorenzo a run and now we let go one of the more versatile youngster, who we could have trialed at no.6 or in the centres.
Zip, your comment rings bells. I was unsure about Pez dispenser tbh, and his injruy unfortunate as it is has not made things better. I would have preferred we keep the kid too and looked at Pap as starting 5/8 firstly. Injuries etc have hurt.
I come back to the Brown deal being a joke and then it cost us a couple of backs (Talagi and Co) and then we lose this kid while Pez is here.
Lorenzo is the long-term halves option and Twidle sees himself as a half. Would you rather lose Lorenzo? You're going to see more of this as new clubs enter the competition. Any young guy that performs is instantly going to have their value inflated. If clubs are offering contracts based off a 20 minute NRL cameo then you're operating blind as a recruiter. The coaches and development staff who have overseen Twidle's development would have a better idea of his ceiling in relation to that of Talataina.
Lorenzo being smaller than any first grade 6 I've seen worries me. Sure in attack he may excel but in defence i haven't seen enough of him to judge, but he's smaller than Jai Gray by the looks of it.
Exactly Super people have got to realise it's the nature of the beast
Lorenzo is tiny. Chris Sandow 2.0. Sack mark O'Neil. This is terrible management.
Also Iongi has to be one of the most overrated players in the entire nrl. Why does he have a mortgage on the fullback role?
Calling it now. Twidle will be a better player than Lorenzo or Iongi in 5 years time, and parra will be spewing they let the next Tedesco go for free. Lorenzo will be in the superleague or gone to park footy in 5 years time. Iongi will be nothing special either.
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